If you don’t think SEO is still important, just ask the businesses or websites that aren’t on the first page of Google.

To improve your SEO, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest trends and be on the lookout for proven strategies.

You can achieve both of these goals by following these nine SEO tips and tricks.

1. Optimize for Rich Answers

Rich answers are those results you’ve probably noticed at the top of organic Google search results. They can include everything from featured snippets to answers provided by Google, maps, charts, and sliders.

Google is going to continue to push this trend, so it wouldn’t hurt for you to make an attempt at getting into the rich answer box by:

Ranking on the first page of search results (in the top 10)

Writing a clear, unambiguous heading. For example, if you were a personal trainer, then you would want to stay away from broad-topic headline tags like “fitness.” Instead, you would use headers like “pushups” or “squats.”

Using <li> tags, which are used to represent an item in a list, and keeping each section short.

2. Copy AdWords Ads to Write Killer Title and Description Tags

Compelling titles and description tags often receive more clicks in the search engine results pages (SERPs). And if you use AdWords text ads, you can quickly find out what people want to click on.

The reason? The competitive keywords that show up in AdWords have been determined through hundreds of split tests. In short, these are the keywords people are searching for.

You can then take those ads and start creating your own inspiring titles and descriptions that are going to generate clicks.

3. Links, Links, Links

Earning links is still a big part of SEO. However, the days of purchasing links are long gone. Instead, you have to earn quality links if you don’t want to get penalized by Google.

For starters, the easiest way to do this is by creating unique content that other sites are willing to share. Infographics, videos, eBooks, and case studies are all pieces of content that people love to share.

Also, don’t forget to link to high-authority sites within your industry in your blog posts and content like infographics or white papers. This will prove that you’re a valuable hub. Also, when composing content for your site, add internal links throughout your site to demonstrate authority and ranking power.

4. Be Mobile-Friendly

Google loves sites that are optimized for mobile devices, as this enhances the user experience. In fact, it’s now a ranking factor for Google.

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure you have a responsive website design, and even consider creating a mobile app. Google also has some mobile-friendly tests to ensure your site is up to par.

5. Focus on Local Results

If you have a brick-and-mortar storefront or rely on location customers, it’s imperative that you improve your local SEO results.

The first place to start is by being mobile-friendly. Because you’ve already done that, you can now focus on the following areas, as suggested by Phil Singleton on Duct Tape Marketing:

Look for keywords that are voice-search-friendly, because voice search is going to get big. You can find relevant keywords by using tools like Wordstream, but keep in mind that voice search results are longer and more conversational than text. For example, if you were searching for flights to Cancun, you would type something like “Cancun flights.” With voice, however, you might ask, “What is the airfare cost to Cancun?”

Provide information, such as your location, phone number, pricing, business hours, and other data, like whether take-out is available, on your homepage and social channels. This improves your visibility.

Provide your customers with an excellent, and consistent, experience by having an easy-to-navigate website that works on mobile devices, as well as valuable content like blog posts and emails that they’ll find useful.

6. Improve User Experience

Creating an amazing customer experience is key to running a successful online marketing campaign. Here are a couple of suggestions on how you can make this happen:

Create or share quality content that is going to provide value to your audience.

Have a functional website that is free of errors and loads quickly.

Design a website that is easy for visitors to navigate.

Ensure your content contains relevant keywords.

Earn quality backlinks. These are instances where other websites have linked to your content.

8. Get Social

Search engines like Google may not consider social channels as a ranking factor yet, but there’s no denying that having an integrated social media campaign can benefit your SEO. If you can drive people to your site from Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, then that can ultimately boost your search ranking.

You can become successful on social media by creating and sharing content that is relevant and engaging. Also, follow industry influencers and potential customers, and begin engaging in conversations with your audience.

9. Keyword Flexibility

Search engines have gotten extremely sophisticated. That means the practice of including the same keyword over and over again on your homepage, blog posts, and social content isn’t going to work anymore. Identify your core keywords and vary them, like making them plural.

Also keep in mind that search engines are looking at keywords more like concepts or phrases, not just single words.

Thankfully, there are also SEO tools, such as SEMrush, that you can use to conduct research on the effectiveness of keywords and how your competitors are using similar keywords.